Chapter 5 - The Downfall
At 2:00 PM, Preston walked into the main executive boardroom on the top floor.
He was holding a leather portfolio, expecting his routine quarterly budget presentation with the Board of Trustees. He had his speech prepared, his charismatic smile rehearsed, and his confidence at an all-time high.
Instead, when he opened the double doors, he didn't see a casual budget meeting.
Sitting around the long mahogany table were all twelve members of the Board of Trustees, Chief Legal Counsel Thomas Hayes, Chief Compliance Officer Arthur Vance, and two uniformed officers from the Columbus Police Department’s Financial Crimes Unit.
Standing near the window, looking out over the city with a glass of water in her hand, was me.
Preston froze in the doorway, his smile instantly vanishing. His eyes darted from the police officers to me, then to the stack of thick black binders sitting in front of Arthur Vance.
"What... what is the meaning of this?" Preston asked, forcing a nervous chuckle as he stepped into the room. "Is this a surprise presentation? Eleanor, why are the police here?"
Eleanor Vance didn't smile. Her voice was as cold as ice. "Take a seat, Preston."
Preston remained standing, his posture hardening as he tried to exert his authority. "I am the Chief Operations Officer of this hospital. I demand to know what is going on!"
"You were the Chief Operations Officer, Preston," Arthur Vance corrected him sternly. "As of ten minutes ago, by unanimous vote of the Board of Trustees, your employment at Hawthorne Regional Medical Center has been terminated for cause, effective immediately."
Preston gasped, staggering back half a step as if he had been struck. "Terminated?! On what grounds?! You can't fire me! I brought this hospital into three consecutive quarters of record profit!"
Thomas Hayes stood up and slid a document across the table. "You are being terminated for grand larceny, executive embezzlement, corporate forgery, and severe breach of fiduciary duty. We have turned over the full digital audit logs of your insurance fraud, the illegal salary diversions to Sloane Telford, and the shell company payments to the State Prosecutor’s office."
Preston’s face went completely bloodless. The arrogant, untouchable COO collapsed into the nearest chair, his hands shaking violently as he stared at the papers.
"This... this is a misunderstanding," Preston stammered, his eyes darting frantically to me. "Mallory! What did you do?! What did you tell them?!"
I walked slowly over to the table, leaning forward until I was just inches from his pale, sweating face.
"I didn't tell them rumors, Preston," I whispered, my voice carrying clearly across the silent room. "I gave them facts. The same facts I just filed with my divorce attorney fifteen minutes ago."
"Divorce?" Preston choked out, his voice cracking. "Mallory, no... wait! We can talk about this! We’re a family!"
"We were a family," I corrected him fiercely. "Until last night, when you looked at your suffocate-bound son in an emergency room and decided your mistress’s child was more important. You told me you held all the power, Preston. You told me I was nothing without you. But you forgot one simple detail."
I leaned closer, my eyes locking onto his terrified gaze. "I used to be a senior forensic accountant before I gave up my life to support yours. You built your entire empire on lies, and you left the blueprints right where I could find them."
"Mrs. Keene has also filed an emergency court motion," Thomas Hayes added smoothly. "All joint marital assets, bank accounts, and properties have been frozen by court order pending the criminal investigation and divorce proceedings. Furthermore, a temporary restraining order has been issued barring you from coming within five hundred feet of Mallory or Landon."
One of the police officers stepped forward, pulling a pair of steel handcuffs from his belt. "Preston Keene, you are under arrest for grand theft, corporate embezzlement, and criminal insurance fraud. You have the right to remain silent..."
"Wait! Stop! You can't do this!" Preston screamed, thrashing as the officer pulled his arms behind his back and snapped the metal cuffs around his wrists. "Sloane! Call Sloane! She can explain!"
"Ms. Telford has already been escorted from the building by security," Eleanor Vance announced coldly. "Her employment has been terminated, and her bank accounts are currently being subpoenaed as a co-conspirator in your embezzlement scheme."
As the officers pulled Preston toward the door, his polished executive image shattered into complete, hysterical ruin. Tears streamed down his face, dragging down the posture he had spent a decade cultivating.
He looked back at me, pleading with his eyes. "Mallory! Please! Don't do this to me! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!"
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I stood straight, my hands folded calmly in front of me, watching him get dragged down the executive hallway in handcuffs.
"I told you, Preston," I said softly to the empty doorway. "When this night was over, you were going to lose everything."
